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Two Obama lieutenants espouse Mao’s teachings

Sunday, November 8, 2009

(Updated 3:00 am)

On June 5, White House Communications Director Anita Dunn told a group of high school students that one of her favorite political philosophers and the one that she turned to the most was Mao Zedong.

In addition, Ron Bloom, President Obama’s new manufacturing czar, said in New York on Feb. 27, 2008, that “the free market is nonsense” and that we “kind of agree with Mao that political power comes largely from the barrel of a gun.”

So here we have two of Barack Obama’s top aides who agree with and admire Mao Zedong, one of the greatest mass murderers in human history.

Obama said that we can judge him by the people he surrounds himself with. F-minus, please!

Robert Simpson
Burlington

The writer is chairman, Alamance County Republican Party.

What do you think?

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mawmaw

November 8, 2009 - 7:04 am EST

Ah, another Glen Beck fan. Did you look at what Dunn said?

The third lesson and tip actually comes from two of my favorite political philosophers: Mao Tse-tung and Mother Theresa -- not often coupled with each other, but the two people I turn to most to basically deliver a simple point which is 'you're going to make choices; you're going to challenge; you're going to say why not; you're going to figure out how to do things that have never been done before."

Who is your favorite political philosopher, Glen or Rush?

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J D R

November 8, 2009 - 8:22 am EST

... and "you don't have to follow other people's choices and paths" or "let external definition define how good you are internally."

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brian444

November 8, 2009 - 10:03 am EST

Well, if you don't object to the lesson here, perhaps you will object to the stupidity of its application. Mao was, after all, the all-time king of enforced conformity: everyone says the same thing, wears the same funny clothes, reads the same book (Mao's little red one), etc., etc. To associate Mao with not following "other people's choices and paths" is incandescently moronic, although I can certainly see where the vision might prove seductive to our friends on the left.

And even if the lesson were a valuable one, perhaps we might pause anyway over Mao's glowing example. After all, he did kill some tens of millions of his own people. Now I know many liberals will say that there still plenty of Chinese folks, and that he probably reduced global warming, etc., etc. Even so, that number has to give one pause.

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J D R

November 8, 2009 - 10:40 am EST

I agree there are certainly much better examples she could have and should have used .. but I find the dominionist pile-on disingenuous:

"everyone says the same thing" .. May the Lord provide for you and yours"
" wears the same funny clothes" .. Dear that dress on you looks Divine.
"reads the same book" ... No comment needed!

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Sawdust

November 8, 2009 - 11:14 am EST

Quick quiz for all you Obamaroids: How many of Obama's friends and associates can you name who have avowed their love for this country? How many that have proven it? 10 points for each correct answer.

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J D R

November 8, 2009 - 12:04 pm EST

I do not consider myself an Obamaroid .. but did vote for him. So here's one answer:

General Colin Powell, Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, among other earned honors.

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Sawdust

November 9, 2009 - 9:03 am EST

Looks like jdr wins the contest with a whopping 1 correct answer, though I question whether Powell's support is based on policy or race.

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J D R

November 9, 2009 - 11:18 am EST

... funny how the Military Man gets 100% support .. regardless of nothin .. unless ... the Military Man says something that doesn't conform to Faux News Fantasy.

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neocon

November 8, 2009 - 12:32 pm EST

Here's a few, Sawdust: Van Jon...no...how about Frank Marshall Davi...oops, let's see...Ron Bloo...No, wait a minute...Anita Du...no, wait...

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Yvonne

November 8, 2009 - 7:16 am EST

What else would one expect from a man who heads the repub party anywhere since their MO is lies and deceit? Truth is not their friend.

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rightwingnemesis

November 8, 2009 - 11:10 am EST

Ms Yvonne,
You are spot on here. This poor fellow has no investment in moving the country forward, rather he is but another partisan writing as if his thoughts were dominant. Truth is, 80% of the people in this country do not identify themselves with the Republican Party.

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mamaboilermaker

November 8, 2009 - 7:18 am EST

Let's just hope Pelosi's "Great Leap Forward" isn't as disastrous as Mao's was. I'm holding onto my copy of the Constitution--maybe some day it will be used again by lawmakers. If not, it will be a relic of a civilization that was taken over by barbarians who wanted only to pillage and plunder. Hello Obamacare, good-bye freedom.

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J D R

November 8, 2009 - 8:17 am EST

"I'm holding onto my copy of the Constitution ... "

You and Virgina Foxx ... both of whom are a solid 200 years too late to "hold on to the Constitution"

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mamaboilermaker

November 8, 2009 - 8:31 am EST

Sorry I wasn't around 200 years ago, but I've held on as long as I've been aware of the Constitution. I'm not responsible for all the people before I was born who tried to flush it down the toilet. I just hold on to a shred of hope that my children and grandchildren might still live in a free country. Unfortunately, it's looking more like they will get the communism my generation managed to dodge.

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J D R

November 8, 2009 - 11:08 am EST

Mama Steam - you are an intelligent and educated woman. I ask you to set aside your fantasy of America and dig into the details. You will find ain't nothin' simple as Beck and Dobson paint. There is a lot of great inspiration .. and there is some ugliness.

As for flushing down the toilet - Prior to Roe V. Wade as many as 1 in every 3-or-4 women had an abortion. This was pre-pill and getting engaged was code for having sex and there were a lot of unplanned or at least hurried-up marriages. Many of those marriages held and that is inspiration (or merely a sign of simpler times) ... but behind them was at best some embarrasment .. and for those that didn't / couldn't get married, there was some ugliness ... and for many that did get married, after eight-is-enough there was only one ugly option.

Here's some modern statistics - even more staggering:

It ain't all Pagans: "Women identifying themselves as Protestants obtain 37.4% of all abortions in the U.S.; Catholic women account for 31.3%, Jewish women account for 1.3%, and women with no religious affiliation obtain 23.7% of all abortions. 18% of all abortions are performed on women who identify themselves as 'Born-again/Evangelical'. "

... and it ain't all Po': Women with family incomes less than $15,000 obtain 28.7% of all abortions; Women with family incomes between $15,000 and $29,999 obtain 19.5%; Women with family incomes between $30,000 and $59,999 obtain 38.0%; Women with family incomes over $60,000 obtain 13.8%.

http://www.abortionno.org/Resources/fastfacts.html

My Point - ain't nothing simple.

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rightwingnemesis

November 8, 2009 - 11:15 am EST

This, Mr. JDR, is the exact reason why Ms. Boilermaker is so far off the mark. Things are just not that simple. Sure, it makes for good troop rallying, but does little or nothing for advancing the country. My wish is that people who believe in such simplicity would try to alleviate the "NEED" for abortion rather than trying to dictate their "simplistic" views to others.

Ms. Boilermaker,
I applaud your passion, but hope that the stats supplied by Mr. JDR will temper your judgement. Why do so many religious groups oppose birth control while at the same time advocate against abortion? I hope you can see the dichotomy there.

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mamaboilermaker

November 8, 2009 - 3:04 pm EST

I never used the word abortion. At the moment, the issue is government control of health care--which will mean the end to medical privacy (as the govt needs to make sure you buy their insurance) and to private medical practices (woe to the doctor who treats the sickest patients--he gets blacklisted and fined.) Who knows what else is in this monstrosity.

Simplistic? YES! I really think it can be as simple as reading the constitution and abiding by its limits. Otherwise the govt can do whatever it pleases, as it has for over a century. It is a tactic of the "elite" to call something complicated so that we will let them take it over because we ordinary people are too stupid and need "elites" like Pelosi to save us from our simplistic ideas about individual freedom. I will cling to my simplistic ideas and teach my children that there are such things as right and wrong, good and evil, freedom and bondage.

Jesus called for individuals to care for the poor--he didn't call for the Roman govt to do it, nor for the American govt to do it.

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J D R

November 8, 2009 - 7:48 pm EST

"Simplistic? YES! I really think it can be as simple as reading the constitution and abiding by its limits."

OK. No Military. No such thing as an Illegal White Man. No vote for Women. Negros count only in the detemiation of House of Representatives. etc etc.

I think my Problem, Momma, is All Of A Sudden the issue of the Constitution is paramount. As an urgent meaningful concernt, it seems phoney to me.

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J D R

November 9, 2009 - 1:36 am EST

http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=rally_round_the_true_constitutio...

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J D R

November 9, 2009 - 1:45 am EST

P.S. "The word "church" is not in the Constitution"

http://www.sunnetworks.net/~ggarman/Mont-Co-Courier-42503.html

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rightwingnemesis

November 9, 2009 - 2:21 pm EST

Mr. JDR,
Touche'!

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J D R

November 8, 2009 - 9:22 am EST

One other thing:

You say: "I .. hope that my children and grandchildren might still live in a free country. Unfortunately, it's looking more like they will get the communism my generation managed to dodge."

Read your own statement a couple times: " ... the communism my generation managed to dodge."

Our generation avoided communism only through solid community. There was politics but McCarthy aside, there were no Becks and Hannities; Edward Morrow and Walter Cronkite were the Media. Business "labored" under unions that pulled worker bee salary up to middle class wages. The wealth managed to get by with 91% tax (lowered by LBJ to 70%), and Income was Income, there was no dodging by getting paid in "stock" - a common trick costing YOU (and the rest of the revenue providers) $300 Billion per year (IRS Estimate).

You say: "I .. hope that my children and grandchildren might still live in a free country."

Most of the Revolutions Happen when the class divide becomes oppressive. Consider the Fall of Rome (80% of the population were slaves) as well as both the French and Bolshevic Revolutions. If you want your children and grandchildren really want to live in a free country, you'd better teach them that fairness goes beyond the playground. Teach them that corruption is a universal curse of mankind. Teach them that there is always a second side. Tell them that as Evil as Hitler was, the cute little Beetle Car was his creation. Teach them there ain't nothing as simple 100% right and 100% wrong nor as black and white as Foxx News pretends. Have them do a book report on the dark side of James Dobson.

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Sawdust

November 8, 2009 - 11:21 am EST

Yes, Walter Cronkite. As a Vietnam vet, I remember Walter well. To refresh the memory of those who have forgotten, Walter was "the most trusted man in America". In 1968, the famed "Tet offensive" took place. In reality, it was a smashing success for our side, with a kill ratio (I'm sorry if that term offends you liberals) of about 100:1 in our favor. But old Walter, bless his heart, convinced the American public that it was a win for the other side, even though they failed to achieve a single goal. The war was downhill from that point, and we lost a lot of good men for no good reason. Here's a toast to dear old Walter: F#&@ you, Walter.

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J D R

November 8, 2009 - 11:32 am EST

There's more to war than Kill Ratios, Sawdust ... a LOT more.

Consider this: We are Celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall .. the demise of the USSR .. the elimination of our greatest enemy .. the kill ratio was 0:0.

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Sawdust

November 9, 2009 - 9:14 am EST

Thanks to Ronald Reagan. Compare Reagan's attitude toward our enemies with that of Obama. We're screwed. Can't "jump to conclusions" about the Mooslim whack-job who killed the soldiers at Fort Hood, might offend some mooslim somewhere. "Better screwed than rude" seems to be the fighting call of the Obama administration.

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J D R

November 9, 2009 - 11:20 am EST

I'll axe you again, Sawdust .. What did the USSR do in response to Ronald Reagan initiatives that caused the Soviet Union to Implode?

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Sawdust

November 9, 2009 - 10:02 pm EST

They tried to keep up the pace, and couldn't. Put plainly, they went broke trying.

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J D R

November 10, 2009 - 1:26 am EST

"They tried to keep up the pace .. "

That is only folk lore, Sawdust ... part of the Ronnie Fantasy. If the Soviets had "Tried to keep up the pace" .. there would have been new programs - or an accelerating of existing programs - or SOMETHING .. but there wasn't. They were already collapsing under the weight of a crappy system. Period.

Dream on, but it was Nothing that Reagan did .. with one exception: Ronnie added to their stress level with his Sar Wars fantasy .. but the cold fact is in by 1980 the USSR was already fizzing in a death spiral.

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Sawdust

November 9, 2009 - 10:05 pm EST

Axe me again? You didn't axe me the first time. Reminds me of the Onion headline: "Ask Murderer Terrorizes Black Neighborhood"

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J D R

November 10, 2009 - 1:29 am EST

Sorry, I slipped into Neo-Speak with "axe".

... regardless .. I ask constantly - whenever the Ronnie Fantasy comes up for discussion. In 20 years, I've never had anyone provide an answer .. cause there simply ain't one. I'll restate: If the Soviets "Tried to keep up the pace" .. there would have been new programs, or an accelerating of existing programs or SOMETHING .. but there wasn't. They were already collapsing under the weight of a crappy system. Period.

Dream on, but it was Nothing that Reagan did .. with one exception: Ronnie added to their stress level with his Sar Wars fantasy .. but the cold fact is the USSR was already fizzing in a death spiral.